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Child Soldiers Are Unfortunately Nothing New
November 2, 2009 at 11:56 PM 30 comments
Written by Lewis D. Eigen
President Abraham Lincoln had recently signed the act of Congress creating the Medal of Honor. Secretary of War William Stanton personally awarded the first medals. On September 16, 1863, it was received by Willie Johnston, He was 13 years old and only 5 feet tall. He had enlisted in the army at the age of 11, and was awarded the highest medal for his bravery during the Peninsula Campaign when he was 12.
Most of us have been shocked by the documentation of Child Soldiers with modern automatic weapons fighting in some of the most bitter and brutal wars on our planet. The notion that children, who by the legal and ethical standards of our society, could not be held responsible for a crime because of their immaturity, are put in a situation of killing hundreds of fellow humans and making all the moral and ethical decisions we expect soldiers in war to make is very had to digest. People are shocked, and also ask how did this happen? What can be done to prevent it?
However, the photographs below give us a historical picture that is surprising to many of us. The left hand child soldier is typical of what we have seen in the Western media for a few years now. The Lord's Resistance Army of Uganda was prototypical of large parts of Africa, Asia, and some of the Arab nations of the Middle East.
The picture to the right–the other young boy with the latest automatic weapon of the time was a Russian boy who fought Germany in WWII.
However an inquiry into the history of child soldiers provides us with a reality that most of us do not welcome. Child soldiers have been the norm throughout history and have been accepted in almost all societies until relatively recently.
So many of American norms and perceptions of war have been formed by World War I and II, that we tend to perceive our behavior in these wars as normal and other wars as aberrant. Perhaps, it was those wars that were the unusual ones and the others more typical.
During the two World Wars, the United States had formal age requirements for military service. There were instances where these regulations were evaded by youngsters lying about their age, but these were not very frequent. The American armed forces in the two World Wars was composed of young men, 17 and over with a strong representation of middle-aged men 30-40, This however was not the case for our other nations.
The Germans equipped an entire SS Panzer Tank Division and manned it with 16 and 17-year-old boys from the Hitler Youth brigades. As Germany suffered more casualties, more teenagers volunteered and were accepted, initially as reserve troops but then as regulars. The German ethic of the boy soldier not only encouraged such service but towards the end of the war, the Germans even drafted boys as young as 12 into military service. These children saw extensive action and were among the fiercest and effective German defenders in the Battle of Berlin. American older teens and especially American men were horrified as they fought and killed–and sometimes were killed–by boys who were barely old enough to graduate from elementary school.
Most of the soldiers opposing the German Child Soldiers were Russians. That Russian invading army had many boy soldiers. The brutal German invasion of Russia killed 22 million Russians. Many of the boy soldiers had not only been orphaned but had seen their own parents killed, Many wanted vengeance; others had nothing else to do; others were excited, as young males have been, by the "glory: of war.
Polish boys fought the Germans as well. For many of them it was kill or be killed, but others were motivated by patriotism or excitement.
The Europeans were not the only militaries which used boy soldiers in WWII. The Japanese made extensive use of boy soldiers when their losses started mounting. Many young boys volunteered to be Kamikaze suicide pilots. Many of the kamikaze pilots believed their death would pay the debt they owed and show the love they had for their families, friends, and emperor. The Chinese fighting against them also used boys. The photo below is a classic of a 10-year-old boy soldier fighting against the Japanese as part of the Nationalist Chinese Forces.
Most Asian armies used young boys throughout history. Recently, the Tamil Tigers terrorist revolutionaries Sri Lanka used boys. sometimes volunteers and sometimes forced, not only as soldiers but also as suicide bombers, It was the Tamil Tigers that who were the models for the Palestinian and other Arab terrorist's using boys (and girls) as suicide bombers and of course, it was the young children that the terrorists sent against the Israeli mature soldiers in the Indefadas. Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir famously told Anwar Sadat of Egypt, "We can forgive you for killing our sons. But we will never forgive you for making us kill yours." Using boys was a very effective tactic against the Israelis as those mature soldiers were very reluctant to and never did use their major weapons against the children although many were killed even with rubber bullets tear gas grenades.
In the Iran-Iraq war, Iraq brutally invaded Iran. Both sides used boy soldiers. Iran, to clear minefields for the more mature soldiers to advance, actually send young boys in waves to "martyr" themselves. In many attacks waves of young children and women were sent in advance of the regular troops. The Iraqis however, did not have the reluctance of the Israelis to use heavy weapons against the unarmed children. Machine guns, artillery, hand grenades, and rockets mowed the women and children down but used up ammunition.
The Ancient Roman Army would not knowingly allow boys under 16 to enlist in the army. They had military and philosophical reasons for this. The Roman soldiers were not just fighters, but each was also a specialized technician. A blacksmith, carpenter, concrete specialist, hunter, physician, cook, engineer, etc. The Roman Army required mature men, educated in the technologies of the times. However almost all the other armies of the ancient world included male children. However before them, the Greeks used child soldiers. The Spartans started military training at age 7 and from then on boys were soldiers.
In Jewish law and tradition, boys of 13 go through the Bar Mitzvah ceremony. Even today, 13 year old Jewish boys recite the famous statement, "Today I am a man!" King David started his career as a shepherd and then joined King Saul as a boy soldier which he was serving as when he killed Goliath. The ritual is just that, and in Israel today, children are not allowed to serve in the Defense Forces. However there is a strong ancient tradition in modern memory.
The Ottoman Turkish Empire made extensive use of child soldiers who were drafted from all over the empire to form the Sultan's Personal Elite Corps. Initially, the children selected were all Christians and Jews. The theory was that they would be the personal slaves of the Sultan. Islamic law prohibited enslaving a fellow Moslem, hence only the heathens were brought to Istanbul for training. They were called the Jannisary Corps and they not only became the elite fighting forces of the empire but they became the managers and administrators for the Sultan's empire. The non-Moslems would, it was thought, not be so easy to assist the Sultan's rivals as they were not related to any by blood or tribe. Later, Moslems were included in the first military and administrative meritocracy outside of Asia. However, young boys were always the recruits and they grew up as Jannisaries. Theoretically, induction was at 14 but there is much documentation of children as young as 8 entering the Corps.
Christianity not only maintained the practice of child soldiers but took it to a new extreme. Almost every knight had young boys in service as squires and other staff. There is an unverified tale of a "Children's Crusade" where European Children went to the Holy Land to fight for Christ.
At the start of the Civil war boys under 18 could enlist with their parents' consent. Many however ran away for a variety reasons ranging from ending the evil of slavery to getting away from doing chores on the farm. There was one young boy who reminisced about his first experience in battle. Elisha Stockwell, after the battle of Shiloh in Tennessee in 1862, said:
"As we lay there and the shells were flying over us, my thoughts went back to my home, and I thought what a foolish boy I was to run away to get into such a mess I was in. I would have been glad to have seen my father coming after me."
In Africa boys had traditionally been used as soldiers but Shaka, the great Zulu warrior king, organized the practice. At the age of 6, boys joined Shaka's army as apprentice soldiers. Initially they carried spare weapons and did other chores but as their skills developed they took their places as regular soldiers whenever they merited promotion.
So child soldiers has generally been the norm throughout human history, This is why it is so difficult to stop the practice worldwide. International law today makes it illegal, but it is very hard to enforce and is considered normal, effective and/or necessary by those who so exploit the children
President George W. Bush in 2007 signed into law the Child Soldiers Accountability Act. The law was approved unanimously by both houses of the U.S. Congress, and makes it a federal crime to recruit or use soldiers under the age of 15 — anyplace in the world. Any American or foreigner who has recruited child soldiers anywhere in the world are subject to United States justice. Many other countries have similar laws.
The problem still lies in enforcement. Probably the most terrible use of child soldiers was made by the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia in the late 1970's. They used child soldiers, both boys and girls, Their genocide executed about 1 million people, but perhaps the worst thing about their crimes was the fact that they used children as executioners, often of their own parents as well as others the adults decided were not fit to live.
Despite the solid documentation of these crimes against humanity, it took over 25 years for anyone to be tried in Cambodia and then it was just a few middle level functionaries. Khmer Rouge Cambodians had traveled to the United States, Europe, Asia–virtually every continent and yet no country has yet seen fit to bring any to justice. When Hezbollah sends children out as suicide bombers, the world is preoccupied with whether the attacks on innocent civilians are justified, and the fact that children have been convinced by their elders to blow themselves to bits to achieve some political objectves of the adults gets lost. In Uganda and neighboring countries, the world knows where the thousands of abducted children of both genders now serving in the Lord's Resistance Army are. Yet the crime has not produced sufficient outrage in any country so that the nation will send law enforcement and military forces to free the children and stop the crimes. Human progress is unfortunately often very slow. We can only speculate how many more children will suffer before world public opinion can be translated into law enforcement and military action.
There is some progress however. The picture below shows a young Ugandan boy enjoying his newly developed skill of reading. At his young age however, he is a already a seasoned military veteran and victim of kidnapping when he was much younger. He was freed and is in the process of being rehabilitated. Would that there could be more like him.
Entry filed under: History, Politics. Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Africa, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Anwar Sedat, Arabs, Cambodia, child soldiers, Child Soldiers Accountability Act, children, Children's Crusade, China, China. Warsaw uprising, Christianity, Civil War, Congress, Elisha Stockwell, George W. Bush, Germany, Golda Meor, Hezbollah, international law, Iran, Iran0Iraq War, Iraq, Israel, Jannisary Corps, Japan, Judiasm, Khmer Rouge, knights, Lord's Resistance Army, Medal of Honor, military service, Palestinians, Poland, Russia, Shaka, Shiloh, soldiers, Sparta, squires, Sri Lanka, suicide bombers, Tamil Tigers, teenagers, terrorists, Turkey, Uganda, war crimes, William Stanton, World War I, World War II, Zukus.
30 Comments Add your own
-very informative and helpful for research purposes
-obviously wasn't proof-read, as grammar and spelling errors were very common
I think this is lastest solution of invaded countries.
Hi, thank you for your very informative article. I would like to find out more about the historical accounts of the military use of child soldiers and I would like to ask you if you could give me some bibliographical references you used in order to find out more. Thanks a lot!
So, if everybody else threw their children into the fires of Morlock, you'd do that too?
I find it interesting that of all the countries in the world, only Israel and the US, the only two truly moral countries in the world, only those two value their children as more than cannon fodder.
Governments who use children to fight in wars are criminals. Poor bloody wanes have enough suffering and terror to go through witnessing the horrors of war with out being forced to become soldiers. Taking away the innocence of childhood. Shame on yous. They are all our children to be loved and cherished.
Not all Muslim countries do that, i haven't even heard of a Muslim country do that.
Hi Omar, do you read the paper or listen to the news? You must be living under a rug!
but when did it start?
This is cruel.
Did anyone try to stop it before it got more intense?
[…] Image 2: https://scriptamus.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/child-soldiers-are-unfortunately-nothing-new/ […]
I would love to see some references being mentioned here. I like this text but it is not something scientific and reliable that I can use it in my paper. also you have used some irrelevant facts to make irrelevant conclusions. like because the knights used children in their army groups so the issue of child soldiers exists in Christianity??!!!
I have vetted many of your assertions. Great work! However, the subject is a tragic manifestation of human nature. Can a leopard change his spots? Jeremiah 13:23 Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Matthew 7:16-18
I am doing a research paper on child soldiers, I would like to use this information. I need to do a works cited page, however I am not sure if this is a scholarly journal, just a regular web page or an article can you please help me out with that scriptamus?
who is the publisher of this article?
[…] – a story endlessly repeated by the Union PR team. Also during the Civil War, Willie Johnson received one of the first Congressional Medals of Honor – at the age of only 13. Going back much further, Joan of Arc was a young woman of 17 when she […]
Funny you talked about the middle ages, you got to inderstand that cutting a man to pieces takes more than shooting a gun, pages and squires were often raped as part of their training, it's evil but it does make killers.
its very useful for my assignment.thank you!
[…] Scriptamus […]
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Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that forward Connor Brown of the Erie Otters is the OHL Player of the Week for the week ending November 11 after recording seven points in two games scoring twice with five assists and a plus-minus rating of plus-6.
Brown led the Otters to back-to-back wins for the first time this season beginning with a 6-3 victory over the Peterborough Petes on Friday night. In that contest Brown produced his first career four-point game with two goals and two assists and was named first star of the game. He followed up that performance with a three-assist effort on Saturday as the Otters defeated the East Division leading Oshawa Generals 6-1.
Brown, an 18-year-old from Etobicoke, ON, is playing in his second OHL season. The Otters' captain was selected in the sixth round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs and currently leads his team in scoring with 16 goals and 12 assists for 28 points in 20 games.
Also considered for the award this week was Buffalo Sabres prospect Daniel Catenacci of the Owen Sound Attack who scored three goals and five assists for eight points in three games, while Matt Rupert of the London Knights scored five goals and two assists for seven points in three games. In goal, Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Oscar Dansk of the Erie Otters went 2-0-0-0 with a goals-against-average of 2.00 and save percentage of .957 making 90 saves in his two starts.
2012-13 OHL Regular Season Players of the Week:
Nov. 5 – Nov. 11: Connor Brown, Erie Otters
Oct. 29 – Nov. 4: Brett Ritchie, Niagara IceDogs
Oct. 22 – Oct. 28: Frank Corrado, Sudbury Wolves
Oct. 15 – Oct. 21: Hunter Garlent, Guelph Storm
Oct. 8 – Oct. 14: Dylan Smoskowitz, Mississauga Steelheads
Oct. 1 – Oct. 7: Joshua Leivo, Sudbury Wolves
Sept. 24 – Sept. 30: Ryan Kujawinski, Kingston Frontenacs
Sept. 20 –Sept. 23: Seth Griffith, London Knights

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Jesse James, whose infidelity doomed his marriage to Sandra Bullock, cheated on rebound gal Kat Von D with no less than 19 women, the former LA Ink star claims.
"Today I encountered the 19th girl to add to the list of people Jesse cheated on me with during this last year," Kat wrote in a blog post on her Facebook page. "I kept going back and forth in my mind as to what the best way would be for me to release and let go of any residual feelings remaining from that toxic relationship."
After James and Bullock's marriage imploded due to his incessant tom-catting, James admitted he showed "poor judgment." But Bullock dumped him and James moved on to the tattooed, 29-year-old. And a bunch more at the same time, it seems.
U.S. & World
James and Von D had been planning to wed last summer, but split. At the time, she said she wished him the best, but now she can't seem to toss a tattoo needle in LA without hitting one of James' paramours.
"I tried my best to go through all of this without venting, or complaining, or fueling more tabloid mumbo jumbo," Von D wrote. "[But] this is about me making peace with myself, and forgiving myself for making some bad mistakes."
A pal of James told People Von D's "claim is ridiculous."


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Talk:Vladimir Putin/Archive 1
from wikipedia:
Comrade Wolf
As a native speaker of Russian, I think there is no need to list all the theories. The Krylov's fable ("The one who is stronger always makes the weaker guilty: We hear a lot of examples of this from History") is what Putin most probably was alluding to, and it's enough to mention just it. Yet another allusion that Putin managed to squeeze in is that Russian saying "Vas'ka sluschaet, da yest" (Vas'ka (a common cat's name) is listening, but continues eating nonetheless), which is spoken in situations when reproaches fall on one's deaf ears.
- Yes, there is no need in all that theories because Putin quotes an old Soviet joke (anecdote):
- В глубокую яму провалился козленок. Потом в эту яму провалился Рабинович. Потом в нее провалился волк и защелкал зубами.
- - Бэээ, мэээ,- жалобно заблеял козленок.
- - Что бэ , что мэ ? - сказал Рабинович.- Товарищ волк знает, кого кушать.
- --Nekto 10:24, 17 June 2007 (UTC)
- Never heard of that. The one I give above, I think is the most obvious interpretation коньвпальто
- I also never heard of that joke - just googled the phrase and got it. Here you are a similar joke from anekdote.ru dated September 14, 2004 i.e. prior to the Putin's speech--Nekto 04:34, 18 June 2007 (UTC)
- I will try to translate it (I think it is an original variant, the one with Rabinovich looks unnatural):
- Wolf, Fox and Hare fell into a trap. They sat there and cannot get out of the pit. After a little while they feel an emptiness. Then Wolf asks: Who shall we eat? Fox answers (looks awry at Hare): "Comrade Wolf knows whom to eat".--Nekto 08:05, 18 June 2007 (UTC)
- Never heard of that. The one I give above, I think is the most obvious interpretation коньвпальто
The assertion that "kushat'" - to eat, or literally to bite, can only be used for children seems wrong - kushat' is far commoner than "est'" in an informal setting. Is there any reason to keep things the way they are without any explanation of this rendering of the term in the present article? --BansheeVTS 9:19, 13 October 2007
About himself
- On December 2005, Putin said to a group of FSB officers: "There is no such thing as a former KGB man" [1]
- After becoming prime minister of Russia, Putin said at a meeting with FSB officers:
"A group of FSB colleagues dispatched to work undercover in the government has successfully completed its first mission." (Los Angeles Times, January 12, 2000) [2]
Terrorism and Chechnya
- Putin on Chechen extremists, on September 24, 1999: "We'll follow terrorists everywhere. We will corner the bandits in the toilet and wipe them out." ("мочить в сортире" in Russian):[1]
- In response to those who called Putin to enter talks with Chechen separatists after the Beslan school hostage crisis, in September, 2004: "Why don't you meet Osama bin Laden, invite him to Brussels or to the White House and engage in talks, ask him what he wants and give it to him so he leaves you in peace? You find it possible to set some limitations in your dealings with these bastards, so why should we talk to people who are child-killers? No one has a moral right to tell us to talk to childkillers."[2]
- "If you are a Christian, you are in danger. Even if you are an atheist, you are in danger, and if you decide to convert to Islam, this will not save you, either, because traditional Islam is inimical to the conditions and objectives set by the terrorists. If you are prepared to become a most radical Islamist and are prepared to circumcise yourself, I invite you to come to Moscow. I will recommend having the operation done in such a way that nothing will grow for you there anymore." Putin snapping back at a reporter from Le Monde who asked a critical question about the conduct of the war in Chechnya, in November 2002. The quotation was rendered innocuous by his interpreter, but the original was recorded on audio and widely reprinted in Russia.
- When a reporter asked Putin why his government didn't negotiate with the leaders of Chechen separatists, Putin answered "Russia doesn't negotiate with terrorists. Russia destroys them."[3]
- When a reporter asked why he invited Hamas to the Kremlin for talks, Putin answered "Burning bridges – especially in politics – is the easiest, but not the most effective thing to do. This is why we don't rush to declare an organization to be terrorist, and try to work with everyone in this explosive region."
- After the tragedy of Beslan, Putin explained the failure of Russia's Security Services with the sentence "We were weak. And the weak are being beaten."
From Putin's Address to the Inhabitants of the Chechen Republic on [March 17], 2003, considering a referendum which was held soon:
- "Yes, life in Chechnya so far looks more like a life after a natural disaster."
- "People in Chechnya — just as throughout Russia — must have the possibility to live normally, to have rest and leisure and medical treatment and to raise and educate their children."
- "I must say that the children of Chechnya are our special anguish. For, trials by no means childish fell to their lot. {...} But the Chechen children, just as the children of all Russia, are our future. And we can — and we shall do that — we shall give them a good education, a good knowledge, we shall set them on their feet."
In 2006 Putin said in his Annual Address to the Federal Assembly:
- "When the need arose to counter a large-scale attack by international terrorists in the North Caucasus in 1999, the problems in the armed forces became painfully evident. {...} Our armed forces came to a total of 1,400,000 men but there wasn't enough men to fight. This is how kids who had never seen combat before were sent in to fight. I will not forget this ever."
- "The terrorist threat remains very real. Local conflicts remain a fertile breeding ground for terrorists, a source of their arms and a field upon which they can test their strength in practice. These conflicts often arise on ethnic grounds, often with inter-religious conflict thrown in, which is artificially fomented and manipulated by extremists of all shades. I know that there are those out there who would like to see Russia become so mired in these problems that it will not be able to resolve its own problems and achieve full development."
My favourite quote:
July 17, 2006, in St Petersbourg Big 8 summit, replying to George W. Bush's
Bush:"I talked about my desire to promote institutional change in parts of the world, like Iraq where there's a free press and free religion, and I told him that a lot of people in our country would hope that Russia would do the same,"
Putin: "We certainly would not want to have the same kind of democracy that they have in Iraq, quite honestly." (laughter in audience) [4][5]
After meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on October 10, 2006, Putin said that the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya "inflicts much greater damage to the government than any of her writing." "This journalist was a sharp critic of the government in Russia but the level of her influence on political life in Russia was very minor," he said. [6]
In response to criticism from US journalist Mike Wallace that his plan to end the direct election of governors and appoint them ran counter to the spirit of democracy, Putin replied:
- "The principle of appointing regional leaders is not a sign of a lack of democracy. For instance, India is called the largest world democracy. But their governors have always been appointed by the central government and nobody disputes that India is a democracy." [7]
Answering the question of Dutch TV station "Nederland 1" and Dutch newspaper "NRC Handelsblad", "Can you imagine a situation in which you would decide to remain in office for a third term?", Putin said: [8]
- "I realise that 2008 will be an important test for Russia, and not an easy one.
- At the same time, the Constitution of the Russian Federation states that the President, the head of state, is elected for four years through direct secret ballot and cannot stay in office for more than two consecutive terms.
- I am not indifferent of course to the question of who will take in their hands the destiny of the country I have devoted my life to serving. But if each successive head of state were to change the Constitution to suit them, we would soon find ourselves without a state at all. I think that Russia's different political forces are sufficiently mature to realise their responsibility to the people of the Russian Federation. In any case, the person who receives the votes of the majority of Russian citizens will become the President of the country."
At the joint press conferess with President George Bush in 2005, Slovakia, Putin said:
- "Russia has made its choice in favor of democracy. Fourteen years ago, independently, without any pressure from outside, it made that decision in the interests of itself and interests of its people — of its citizens. This is our final choice, and we have no way back. There can be no return to what we used to have before. And the guarantee for this is the choice of the Russian people, themselves. No, guarantees from outside cannot be provided.
- {...} First, we are not going to make up — to invent any kind of special Russian democracy; we are going to remain committed to the fundamental principles of democracy that have been established in the world. But, of course, all the modern institutions of democracy — the principles of democracy should be adequate to the current status of the development of Russia, to our history and our traditions. There is nothing unusual here, either. In every country, these overall principles are embodied in this or that way. "
And, after discussing media freedom,
- "We are paying close attention to all the comments of the press or opposing forces, but our responsibility is to, in spite of all these problems of which there are plenty, our responsibility is to positively develop the Russian-American relationship."
From interview with TF-1 Television Channel (France), taken on July 12, 2006:
- "I see that not everyone in the West has understood that the Soviet Union has disappeared from the political map of the world and that a new country has emerged with new humanist and ideological principles at the foundation of its existence."
- "We need our state and society to be organised in such a way that the regional authorities feel intimately bound to the country's common national interests, while at the same time having sufficient powers to resolve their local problems and objectives. There are, however, some basic principles that we must certainly adhere to and that we are ensuring. First, we are working hard now on creating a genuine multiparty system. {...} Second, we are redistributing powers between the federal, regional and municipal authorities."
- "[I]f we go back 100 years and look through the newspapers, we see what arguments the colonial powers of that time advanced to justify their expansion into Africa and Asia. They cited arguments such as playing a civilising role, the particular role of the white man, the need to civilise 'primitive peoples'. We all know what consequences this had. If we replace the term 'civilising role' with 'democratisation', then we can transpose practically word for word what the newspapers were writing 100 years ago to today's world and the arguments we hear from some of our colleagues on issues such as democratisation and the need to ensure democratic freedoms."
- "So let's get away from the stereotyped thinking of the Cold War era, stop putting labels on each other and simply cooperate instead, help each other develop and improve our political systems."
Life in Russia
Putin about emigration of talented people from Russia, on June 6, 2003: "If brains are draining, then they exist. It's already good. It means, they are of high quality, otherwise nobody would need them."
From Putin's Annual Address to the Federal Assembly, 2005:
- "I will recall once more Russia's most recent history.
- Above all, we should acknowledge that the collapse of the Soviet Union was a major geopolitical disaster of the century. As for the Russian nation, it became a genuine drama. Tens of millions of our co-citizens and compatriots found themselves outside Russian territory. Moreover, the epidemic of disintegration infected Russia itself.
- Individual savings were depreciated, and old ideals destroyed. Many institutions were disbanded or reformed carelessly. Terrorist intervention and the Khasavyurt capitulation that followed damaged the country's integrity. Oligarchic groups — possessing absolute control over information channels — served exclusively their own corporate interests. Mass poverty began to be seen as the norm. And all this was happening against the backdrop of a dramatic economic downturn, unstable finances, and the paralysis of the social sphere.
- Many thought or seemed to think at the time that our young democracy was not a continuation of Russian statehood, but its ultimate collapse, the prolonged agony of the Soviet system.
- But they were mistaken.
- That was precisely the period when the significant developments took place in Russia. Our society was generating not only the energy of self-preservation, but also the will for a new and free life." Read more...
From Putin's Annual Address to the Federal Assembly on May 10, 2006:
- "Our efforts today focus precisely on the areas that directly determine the quality of life for our citizens. We are carrying out national projects in the areas of healthcare, education, agriculture and housing construction. As you know, the problems in these areas have accumulated not just over a period of years but over entire decades."
- "In the working out of a great national program which seeks the primary good of the greater number, it is true that the toes of some people are being stepped on and are going to be stepped on. But these toes belong to the comparative few who seek to retain or to gain position or riches or both by some short cut which is harmful to the greater good. These are fine words and it is a pity that it was not I who thought them up. It was Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the President of the United States of America, in 1934."
- "We have spoken on many occasions of the need to achieve high economic growth as an absolute priority for our country. The annual address for 2003 set for the first time the goal of doubling gross domestic product within a decade."
- "We have already begun taking concrete steps to change the structure of our economy and, as we have discussed a great deal, to give it a more innovative quality."
- "Russia must realise its full potential in high-tech sectors such as modern energy technology, transport and communications, space and aircraft building."
- "You know that our country's population is declining by an average of almost 700,000 people a year. We have raised this issue on many occasions but have for the most part done very little to address it." (Putin proposed a vast programme to encourage childbirth, including 250,000 roubles pay[3] for giving birth to a second child.[4] )
- "Regarding migration policy, our priority remains to attract our compatriots from abroad."
- "We need armed forces that guarantee Russia's security and territorial integrity no matter what the scenario."
- "By 2008, professional servicemen should account for two thirds of the armed forces. All of this will enable us to reduce compulsory military service to one year."
Foreign policy
After saying the US shouldn't have gone into Iraq in the first place: "But if the U.S. were to leave and abandon Iraq without establishing the grounds for a united and sovereign country, that would definitely be a second mistake." [9]
- "Russia's modern foreign policy is based on the principles of pragmatism, predictability and the supremacy of international law."
- "I stress that we unambiguously support strengthening the non-proliferation regime, without any exceptions, on the basis of international law." [10]
From Meeting with the Leaders of the News Agencies of G8 Member Countries:
- [About role of UN] "The fact that today issues are discussed openly within the UN and that the UN remains a platform for settling international problems rather than serving the foreign policy interests of any one state makes it not only more universal but absolutely necessary for developing acceptable decisions in today's international arena. We do not have any other such universal international organization."
- [About problem of Iran] "First of all we must develop common approaches with our partners, approaches that would be acceptable to our Iranian partners and that would not restrict their possibilities for using modern technology. At the same time these approaches must completely assuage the international community's concerns about the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear technologies that could prove dangerous for international peace. {...} Our main position is well known. We are against the use force in any circumstances. That is clear.
- [About separatism] "Russia never raised the issue about joining any territories beyond its borders to the Russian state. And we have no plans to do so.
- I consider that we must develop uniform rules, norms and approaches to punctual events in different regions of the world. Otherwise there will be chaos. {...}
- I am very worried about this. And I would like Russia's concern to be transmitted and shared by all. We must understand that this is not a sports competition in which someone wins something back from someone else."
Transfer from Wikipedia
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- (cur) (last) 10:33, June 27, 2007 Ellol (Talk | contribs) (24,159 bytes) (→Foreign policy and geopolitics - It may be way to big, but on the other hand, the question is really topical and complex)
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- (cur) (last) 05:12, May 7, 2007 188.8.131.52 (Talk) (12,775 bytes) (russian slang translation corrected "мочить в сортире", mochit' is slang for killing)
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- (cur) (last) 17:25, February 9, 2007 18.104.22.168 (Talk) (→Foreign policy and geopolitics - I think it's a statement of interest because it may help to reach consensus after all)
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- (cur) (last) 10:05, January 22, 2007 Colchicum (Talk | contribs) (This is likely to be apocryphical)
- (cur) (last) 11:20, January 19, 2007 Colchicum (Talk | contribs) (←Created page with 'Public appearances of Vladimir Putin, Russian president, have provided numerous memorable quotes. ==Quotations== ===Chechnya and terrorism=== *...')
Will {talk) 00:51, 5 July 2007 (UTC)
- ↑ Grozny gangsters hold sway in a wasteland created by Russia by Sebastian Smith, December 11, 2004 from the UK Times, URL accessed July 7, 2006.
- ↑ "Putin rejects "child-killer talks"". BBC News. 2004-09-07. Retrieved on 2006-07-07.
- ↑ Above 9000 USD.
- ↑ A second baby? Russia's mothers aren't persuaded., Christian Science Monitor, May 19, 2006


text:
The Central Connecticut men's track and field team opened its indoor season at Boston University on Saturday. Junior Jordan Watkins broke the CCSU record in the 60 meter hurdle event, clocking a time of 8.27 seconds.
Watkins set the previous 60m hurdle record last season with his time of 8.39.
Central tallied five top-five performances on Saturday. Watkins was the only Blue Devil to take first but was joined at the top by junior Michael Ficorilli who claimed third in the weight throw, registering a career-best distance of 14.54 meters. He also placed fifth out of 13 competitors in the shot put, throwing for 13.31 meters.
Junior Jamal Fruster led CCSU in the 400m dash, crossing the finish line in 49.46 seconds. He was followed by junior Ryan Budd (13th, 50.81), freshman Tommy Pytel (14th, 50.88) and junior Chris Savvidou (16th, 52.07).
In the triple jump, freshman Garrett Shaw placed fifth with a score of 13.35 meters. He was followed by sophomore Chris Sudol in seventh with 12.71. The pair also competed in the long jump. Sudol placed eighth (5.86m) followed by Shaw (9th, 5.81m).
Freshman Kendall Walker, who competed for CCSU during the 2013 outdoor season, finished seventh in the 60m dash with his time of 7.25 seconds.
Freshman Andrew Weiler also performed well, clocking a time of 1:59.97 in the 800m run, good for eighth out of 19 runners.
Central also entered squads in the 4x400m relay competition. Savvidou and Watkins, along with sophomore Brian Beckwith and freshman Dan Baum, placed eighth with their time of 3:29.29. They were followed in ninth by Pytel, Budd, Walker and Fruster who crossed the finish line in 3:29.49.
Other notable performances for CCSU included Fruster (22.92) and Walker (22.97) who placed 10th and 14th, respectively in the 200m dash. In the one mile run, junior Joey Farrington raced a time of 4:31.98 for 15th place out of 27 competitors. He was followed by sophomore Malcolm Conner in 19th (4:44.00).
Beckwith placed 14th out of 20 in the 500m dash with his time of 1:08.67.
Central completed the day in fifth place overall, tallying 49 points. Northeastern University won the meet with 150 points, followed by UMASS-Lowell (132), Boston University (58) and Boston College (51). Bryant (25) and Marist (20) finished sixth and seventh, respectively.
The Blue Devils will have almost a month to prepare for their next meet. CCSU will travel to New Haven, CT for the Yale Invitational on Jan. 11.


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This painting by Callum Innes began as a monochrome, with dense layers of black oil paint covering the middle section of a primed white canvas. What appears as a soft veil of color is actually the remains of a carefully unpainted block of canvas. Taking a turpentine-soaked brush, the artist allowed the solvent to run down the surface of one painted section, leaving a ghostly trail of paint and exposing the support underneath. Innes's exposed paintings, a series he has explored since the early 1990s, take their specific titles from the color of paint used in their creation. These familiar titles, seen on many a tube of store-bought paint, belie the fact that Innes uses traditional methods to mix his own colors, a process that allows him to obtain the precise hue he desires for each work. The term "exposed" refers not only to the exposed canvas, but also to the artist's activity in the studio, which can be discerned from the evidence left behind in the works themselves.
Innes was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he lives and works today. Capturing the optical properties of his home environs, he creates works that convey a specificity of place and a gentleness of touch unique from the Minimalist paintings to which they are often compared. Innes' formal approach and seemingly simple means of covering the canvas bring to mind Minimalism. Yet within these strict boundaries, the artist unmistakably introduces his own hand and the elements of chance and time. Emphatically not simply the objects themselves, his exposed paintings are records of studio activity, evidence of creation itself, carefully orchestrated by the artist to communicate with the spectator. Standing before Exposed Painting Mars Black, a viewer can easily work backwards from the finished work to the artist's point of departure—a blank canvas. In this way, the work remains in a constant state of making and unmaking, appearing and disappearing, perpetually alive.


text:
I installed a new version of MySQL server (previously 5.0, now 5.5) and I copied the data folder in to the new one. Now I should perform
mysql_upgrade. I opened the command prompt (server is located on Windows Server 2012) and used
cd to get in the bin folder. I wrote the file name to run the upgrade. The result was
mysql_upgrade: unknown option '--no-beep'. What's that? I tried to do some research on Google, but no one seemed to have the same error.
I'm confused. Even the MySQL documentation doesn't seem to tell anything about the error.


text:
Read here from Packers.com. Tramon Williams has signed 1 year contract. While I wouldn't mind locking a player like Tramon up longer term, it probably is smart to give it another season to make sure he truly can be a long-term replacement for Al or Charles at CB. Still, I'm glad this is done.
Tramon signs – nice
14 Responses to "Tramon signs – nice"
56Coop Says:
May 31, 2009 at 3:33 pm |
Working at a retail store on a Sunday in a bad economy leaves one with a lot of time on his hands. Just a few thoughts after a little web surfing–
I'm sure everyone has read MM's press conference of May 28th by now. Glad to see he thinks specials teams is improving. We all know they killed us a few times last year so an improvement will be a big help.
22 mental errors on defense. I know it's way early, lot's of roookies and a totally new scheme but still… Capers is an excellent defensive coach in my opinion (not so much as a head coach) that knows the 3-4 very well & is a good teacher of that defense. Kevin Greene cannot hurt either. I just hope the players are buying into it (which I think they are). I think Kampman will settle down and thrive in this defense. Also, I hope Nick Collins fully participates in learning this new defense–he needs to be there. This is not the time for the vets to stay home.
I am a little disappointed they cut strenght & conditioning to two days. They hired new S & C coaches, let do some work. I firmly believe S&C during summer helps prevent injuries in fall/winter. Matthews already has a hamstring issue.
Finally, of all the websites in theNFC North the Vikes site sucks. Packers, Bears & Lions are all on a pretty much even keel but the the Vikes site just sucks.
Oh well, thanks for a place to handle the boredom. Can't wait till August. By the way–did I tell you taht the Vikes have a terrible web site?
Cindy V Says:
May 31, 2009 at 7:50 pm |
To change the subject. This from SI online:
Sports Illustrated's Peter King reported earlier this week that the Vikings were eager to get an answer from Brett Favre by this weekend regarding whether he's going to sign to play for them. But coach Brad Childress said Friday afternoon that he has not had any more contact with Favre or agent Bus Cook since the last time Childress addressed the media about the subject last week. "I have not," Childress said. "Nothing has changed." Childress said last week that the last time he had spoken to Favre was "several weeks ago."
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Cindy V Says:
May 31, 2009 at 7:51 pm |
To change the subject again. Are you folks as disappointed as me in Donald Driver and his complaints about his contract?
Ron La Canne Says:
May 31, 2009 at 10:59 pm |
I think DD is trying to get a bump early in his contract because he and his agent are faced with the reality of AGE. At 34 and two more years to go, it's not likely he will get that big pay day at 36. Why not give it a shot. Missing the OTA's will have litte effect effect on him. He's one of the best conditioned and most competent players on the team. I'm sure he'll be there when it counts.
Joe Says:
June 1, 2009 at 8:09 am |
I am sure that is what DD is thinking, but what was he thinking last year, and the year before and the year before that. This is the 4th year in a row that he has asked to redo his deal.
Cindy V Says:
June 1, 2009 at 8:11 am |
My concern is that Tightwad Ted may use missing OTA and general unsatisfaction as an excuse to dump Driver. Why give TT the ammunition?
joshywoshybigfatposhy Says:
June 1, 2009 at 9:36 am |
i don't think any gm with half a brain would ever dump dd. that would be world-class stupid.
but if it were up to me? well, thank you for asking…
i'd meet with driver and tell him – "look, donnie, honeycakes, you're a role model. and still a good player. but you've got lots of good, young competition, and you're not going to hold us up for an over-market salary — so how's about we both get what we want? you go and practice, make like you're doing the 'right' thing and show our young players how things SHOULD be done, and in, oh, say week 4, we'll come to you with this offer (slide paper across desk and look all sneaky)."
i'd have the papers drawn up and ready to sign. and i'd be wearing a bad suit and stink of bourbon and parliments. and i'd have a smarmy mustache and lots of big, shiny rings. and i'd probably be named tony clifton or ray biggs or sal 'the yellow dart' pompeno.
56Coop Says:
June 1, 2009 at 10:05 am |
I don't think DD will get dumped either but TT has shown flashes of world class stupidity before. If he were so inclined to actually sit down with players & try to come to some logical agreement he had the pefect opportunnity 2 years ago with Favre who is now (hopefully) retired. That being said though, you have a great plan Joshy. If DD wants a couple more million I'd say he is as deserving of it as anybody. TT & MM should read this blog…
bucky Says:
June 1, 2009 at 12:31 pm |
Do we know that Driver is looking to get another contract? The only reference I've seen so far is from Bedard's JS blog, which identifies "sources" that say Driver is taking issue with his contract. The same blog says Driver's agent denies the contract is at issue, and Driver seems to say he's happy with his contract. Unless there's more information out there, I'm not convinced that this is an issue.
And for Driver's sake, it better not be. I love Donald Driver as much as the next guy, but he's 34 years old, and scheduled to make $6.1 large this year (and $7M next year). I'm pretty sure he wouldn't make that sort of money on the open market right now. I also don't see the team willing to give him a whole lot more, not with Jennings contract coming due this next season. Jennings as the number 1 guy- and at 26 years old- will make more than the older Driver, who is a solid number 2 guy. If Driver really does have a problem with that – and again, it's not clear yet to me that he does- then he can find another team where he can perhaps be a number 1, but I have a hard time seeng him making any more than he is now.
DaveK Says:
June 1, 2009 at 1:52 pm |
There would be plenty of teams willing to pay Driver $7+ million this season. A couple teams in our own division would snap that up in a second. That being said, Driver and the Packers have always done well in their contract negotiations. I believe Driver's last extension was in 2007 when TT gave him some new money despite Driver signing a four year deal the prior summer. All the new money in 2007 was tied to production and game day roster bonuses. So, Driver didn't get a penny more unless he produced and stayed healthy. Props to TT for not playing hard ball with a player that was one year in on a four year deal and props to DD for accepting the new money based on production and staying healthy. If would be nice if all contract negotiations were handled by both sides like that as they were able to work out an extension that made both sides happy. But, that was two years ago and I am guessing that Driver wants another bump in his contract. We can speculate all we want but we have no idea if anyone is being unreasonable here. Driver may be asking way too much or TT may not be willing to extend Driver at this point in his career with two years left on his current deal. We just don't know yet and it seems that some use any story to rail on Ted Thompson. Besides, I don't think Driver is going to become a problem without a new deal. Does anyone foresee Driver sitting out camp or demanding a trade? I don't. Worst case scenario with Driver is that he plays out the last two years and hits FA at the ripe old age of 36.
Kozak Says:
June 1, 2009 at 2:06 pm |
Nightmare scenario. Favre and Driver on the Queens.
I need to take a shower now.
bucky Says:
June 1, 2009 at 2:40 pm |
Take a look at what other receivers are getting paid and tell me again that "there are a lot of teams willing to pay Driver 7+ million a year". Again, I love DD, but he's not one of the top 10 WRs in the game right now. He's just not gonna make that money anywhere else, not at his age.
All that aside, I remain to be convinced that he is actually looking to get another raise. The sourcing behind Bedard's blog post is thinner than the prosciutto I get at the local deli.
DaveK Says:
June 1, 2009 at 3:25 pm |
I believe Hester a year ago got $30 million over 4 years or $7.5 a year. Williams, last season after the trade with the Cowboys, signed a $45 million deal for 5 years or $9 million a year. Benard Berrian got a 6 year $42 million deal or $7 million a year a few years back. Owens who turns 36 this season and with all his personality issues got $6.5 million for one year. Driver would not be overpaid in 2009 if he got $7 million per year . All that being said, Driver may be upset that alot of his deal is not guaranteed. He may very well not want new money but just some more guaranteed money. Again, we really have no way of knowing at this point.
Cheesehead TV » Post Topic » From The "I'm Just Saying…" Dept. Says:
July 23, 2009 at 11:13 pm |
[…] just read the most horrific thing in the comments section over at PackerGeeks. Working from some gargantuan leaps of logic, the talk of Driver's disatisfaction with his […]


text:
Aye, yai, yai my girls are crazy.
Last night Greer curled Reese's hair, picked a dress out of her closet
and set outside in the heat for a full on photo shoot.
Reese turns 11 next week and
the girls figured she needed to make her "eleven year old debut".
So enjoy--
Reese's posing
And Greer's mad photo skills.
The three Barkettes' headed off to Camp Rainbow Gold's Sibling Camp
this morning.
They are gone about a week.
Wow, is it ever going to be quiet around here.


text:
I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
—John 12:46 (NIV)
One of the strongest images of standing strong in a storm is the lighthouse. In the era before radar, satellite navigation and GPS systems, lighthouses were vital to protect ships from crashing onto rocks, shoals, and shores. Building lighthouses can be considered one of man's most noble endeavors. Since the beginning of seafaring, families and friends have lit bonfires at night to guide sailors home.
George Bernard Shaw said, "I can think of no other edifice constructed by man as altruistic as a lighthouse. They were built only to serve."
And evangelist D.L. Moody commented, "Lighthouses don't fire cannons to call attention to their shining—they just shine."
Jesus used this imagery of light to describe our role in His kingdom. We are the light of the world, He said, after claiming Himself to be the true light. Therefore we function much like a lighthouse, both internally and externally.
The first design for a lighthouse is the internal function of generating light. Early lighthouses used a literal fire that had to be constantly fed and watched. Later electric lights were utilized and ultimately laser lights. But this light still has to be internally projected.
So we too as followers of Jesus project internal light, the outer expression of the inner life under the control of the Holy Spirit.
The other aspect of a modern lighthouse is that it also is an external reflector. Over the years of improvements, revolving lenses have been developed to reflect that internally generated light further into the darkness.
As the moon reflects the light of the sun, so we reflect the light of the Son in a world of darkness.
And finally, lighthouses remind us of God's love. Like the bright shining beam of a lighthouse, His love reaches out…piercing through the darkness of any storm.
RESPONSE: Today and throughout this year I will be a lighthouse for Jesus, projecting His inner light and reflecting His light externally.
PRAYER: Lord, may Your love and Your light pierce the darkness of the world around me as I stand strong and faithful for You like a lighthouse, today and through the year ahead.
Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS), a daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks. © 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission.


text:
Out of '09, onto 2010
The Bisons 2009 season came to a close on Monday afternoon as the Herd fell to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs at Coca-Cola Park, 3-0.
The loss was the Herd's 87th defeat of the season, their highest total since a 55-89 campaign in 1994. The Bisons finished in last place in the International League North Division for the first time in their now their 12th season since rejoining the league. It's only the sixth time in the modern era Buffalo has finished the year with a losing record.
Jesus Feliciano was given the well deserved day off after appearing in a team-high 130 games. Even without playing on Monday, the Bisons MVP will lead the entire International League with 154 hits unless Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's Austin Jackson (149) closes out league play on Monday night with a monster game.


text:
In her poem "When Great Trees Fall" Maya Angelou wrote, "When great trees fall/in forests, small things recoil into silence, their senses/eroded beyond fear." The famous poet evokes images of animals at odds with these great falling trees, but it turns out that the same trees that send creatures scurrying into the underbrush can be essential for their survival. Whether on the forest floor or on the stream bottom, fallen trees continue to function as an important part of the ecosystem by providing food, nutrients, and habitat to many creatures large and small — including some of California's most vulnerable species.
Coho salmon are in serious peril in California where their numbers have fallen by 99% in 60 years. Three hours north of San Francisco in Mendocino County in a region known for its grand forests, conservation organizations and forest products companies are racing against time to save endangered coho salmon before they are lost to extinction in the state. With time running out for this iconic species and budgets at all levels of government facing cuts, conservation scientists seeking solutions for coho need to be innovative, and they are turning to efforts that are both less expensive and more efficient.
The reasons for their decline are diverse and include impacts to both the ocean and the freshwater rivers and streams. On the freshwater side, one of the main concerns is a lack of habitat and shelter. When trees fall into streams they help form essential salmon habitat by creating deep, cool pools and clean nesting areas, and provide ample food and cover from predators. Yet more than 80% of rivers where coho live in California don't have enough fallen trees and logs to create the habitat elements that salmon need for survival. This is a legacy of historic logging practices that cut right down to the rivers' edges.
Saving coho requires restoring more than 1,000 miles of streams across California, and many thousands more across the entire Northwest. Traditionally, restoration practitioners have constructed complex structures with wood and steel cable to recreate "artificial salmon habitats." These structures are designed to stay rigidly in the places they were built, and they involve large investments of both time and materials to construct.
But with extinction looming and budgets decreasing, scientists and restoration practitioners put their heads together to think of a method of restoring habitat for salmon that would be more natural, cheaper, and more effective.
The technique they developed is simple: instead of carefully constructing cable and wood structures to simulate natural habitat, they are placing loose logs and directly falling streamside trees into the river at strategic locations and letting the power of winter rains and high stream flows move the wood to create log jams and salmon habitat naturally.
The change seems simple, but the results are dramatic. This new technique reduces costs by more than a third and effectively improves habitat in 12 months or less.
Both non-profit conservation organizations like the Nature Conservancy and The Conservation Fund and for-profit forest product companies have demonstrated the effectiveness and the pragmatism of this new restoration practice. We are putting money and people on the ground to fall trees into streams, restoring coho habitat with impressive results.
Although this new restoration practice isn't the only thing we need to do if we want to save coho salmon, it addresses one of the top threats to their recovery – a lack of stream habitat for both adult and young fish. If we can't restore streams quickly and cheaply, we will certainly lose this iconic California species and potentially other salmon species across the Pacific Northwest. Using these inexpensive techniques, it will be economically feasible to do this type of restoration across an entire watershed in a relatively short period of time.
Our state, nation, and world are facing big problems—from species disappearing to the impact of our changing climate to the ongoing financial crisis. In the face of these challenges, it would be easy to throw up our hands and say we can't make a difference in short time we have with limited resources. But with a little creativity and ingenuity, we can work smarter and more efficiently to save our natural heritage.
Follow Mike Sweeney on Twitter


text:
Approximately 55 percent of life insurance companies have adopted or are in the process of adopting e-applications for at least some of their products, according to a new report.
Celent, a research advisory unit of the management consulting firm Oliver Wyman, discloses this finding in a new report, "Have e-Signatures Arrived: An Update for Life Insurers." An update to an earlier Celent report published in 2007, the 2013 survey re-examines the issues that insurers face as they move toward straight-through processing, enabled by process automation and punctuated by use of e-signatures.
According to the 2013 Celent survey, the vagueness of the federal and state laws, which don't prescribe e-signature technology, at first encouraged early adopters toward the most robust technology solutions available, such as Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). But many insurers have since determined that less robust (and less expensive) solutions such as click-wrap (i.e., having users click "I Accept" on a webpage) or nonbiometric signature captures are sufficient.
The survey observes that 70 percent of respondents use click wrap versus 30 percent in 2007. Similarly, one-third used PKI in 2007, and none use it today.
Celent's 2007 report saw little progress in the use of e-signatures by life insurers, but in 2013 they are showing large-scale adoption. In Celent's 2007 survey, 53 percent of life/annuity/health insurance respondents said their companies were not using e-signatures in their dealings with customers or agents. However, in 2013, that number dropped to 25 percent.
By line of business, Celent found in 2007 that annuity carriers were not using e-signatures in their interactions with customers or agents. Among life/health insurers, 47 percent were not using any form of e-signature. In 2013, 40 percent of annuity carriers and 81 percent of life/health are using some form of e-signature.
"The current lack of e-signature use for annuities is surprising because annuities are a somewhat commoditized line of business," the report states.
In 2007, although life insurance respondents indicated that a good portion of their new business could be automated, they were not enthusiastic about their prospects for STP. In 2013, insurers are much more optimistic: 22 percent said that more than 80 percent of their new applications could be processed with virtually no human intervention, compared to 0 percent in 2007. In 2013, nearly 40 percent said that more than 60 percent of their new business applications could be processed without human intervention.


text:
January 10, 2013
From: Susan E. Campbell, Committed Member of the (open source) ONC Longitudinal Coordination of Care Community-led initiative
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) is seeking your participation in the S&I Framework Initiative, Longitudinal Coordination of Care (LCC) Workgroup (WG). The LCC WG is a community-led initiative charged with supporting and advancing interoperable electronic health record (EHR) systems and patient-centric interoperable health information exchange across the Long-term and Post-Acute Care (LTPAC) spectrum. Over the past year, the LCC WG has been engaged in developing a standardized patient assessment tool and refining standards and implementation guidance for consideration in Meaningful Use Stage 3. More specifically, the LCC WG and its three sub-workgroups are addressing the following challenges:
- Absence of an interoperable, longitudinal care plan which aligns, supports and informs care delivery regardless of setting or service provider
- Lack of clear and harmonized terminologies and definitions for care plans
- Lack of robust, interoperable EHR systems across the LTPAC spectrum with the ability to electronically exchange clinical information
- Underserved community with multiple care settings and needs that exceed exchange of clinical information
Key accomplishments (with hyperlinks) of the LCC WG include:
LCC Use Case. Outlines three scenarios for health information exchange between:
- an acute care hospital and home health agency (HHA)
- a skilled nursing facility (SNF) and the Emergency Department (ED)
- a Physician and a HHA. Two of the scenarios center on the Home Health Plan of Care (HH-POC), based on the CMS 485 form.
Transitions of Care and HH-POC Data Set. Builds from the LCC Use Case and identifies over 480 data elements needed by receiving clinicians to safely and appropriately care for patients at times of transitions of care.
Care Plan Glossary. Describes a key list of care plan terms, definitions and components to be considered
for MU stage 3.
The LCC WG is a community-led initiative that is mainly funded and driven by public and private sector partners, each of which is truly committed to overcoming the interoperability challenges in long-term and post-acute care transitions. These dedicated groups include my company, Care Management Professionals. We hope it could also include the Case Management Society of America (CMSA) and your own firm, Case Management Innovators.
Given the current timeline to respond to the Health IT Policy Committee (HITPC) Stage 3 Meaningful Use Request for Comment (RFC), the LCC WG has hosted a series of webinars to give key stakeholder groups additional information on the current recommendations and questions related to care plans and other key LTPAC priority areas including transitions of care and advance directives. The LCC WG is focused on gathering and consolidating LTPAC community comments and feedback on the existing recommendations in order to develop a unified and targeted response to influence Stage 3 MU recommendations.
We encourage you to review one of the four presentations and recordings of these webinars which are now available on the LCC wiki page here. The LCC WG wants to ensure all LTPAC stakeholder groups have the opportunity to shape Stage 3 MU recommendations and ultimately influence the development of a collaborative model of care that encompasses a longitudinal and comprehensive care plan.
An initial draft of LCC WG comments is now available here for
your review and additional input.
We also invite you to participate in the LCC WG weekly calls. The
schedule and webex information for these calls are available here.
Susan E.
Campbell, PhD, RN-BC(IN), CPHQ, CCM, CIC
Committed LCC Committee Member
Evelyn Gallego, ONC S&I LCC Initiative Coordinator
Dr. Larry Garber, LTPAC SWG Lead
Dr. Terry O'Malley, LTPAC SWG Lead
Dr. Bill Russell, LCP SWG Lead
Sue Mitchell, LCP SWG & PAS SWG Lead


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The search found 9 results in 0.011 seconds.
Social scientists have long argued documentary films are powerful tools for social change.
But a University of Iowa (UI) sociologist and his co-researchers are the first to use the Internet and social media to systematically show how a documentary film reshaped public perception and ultimately led to municipal bans on hydraulic fracking.
The view that the rich are highly mobile has gained much political traction in recent years and has become a central argument in debates about whether there should be "millionaire taxes" on top-income earners. But a new study dispels the common myth about the propensity of millionaires in the United States to move from high to low tax states.
It appears that people who actively participate in demonstrations during social movements on behalf of those dissimilar to them do so for two important reasons.
First, they trust their outgroup peers. Secondly, the political climate in their home countries actually fosters both trust and political engagement, and this is particularly true in countries with well-functioning political institutions.
Ramen noodles are supplanting the once popular cigarettes as a form of currency among state prisoners, but not in response to bans on tobacco products within prison systems, finds a new study.
Instead, study author Michael Gibson-Light, a doctoral candidate in the University of Arizona School of Sociology, found that inmates are trying to figure out ways to better feed themselves as certain prison services are being defunded.
A shift to defined-contribution retirement plans, such as 401(k) plans, has led to an income and education gap in pension savings that could exacerbate future economic inequality, according to a study that was presented at the 111th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA).
Protests that bring many people to the streets who agree among themselves and have a single message are most likely to influence elected officials, suggests a new study.
"We found that features of a protest can alter the calculations of politicians and how they view an issue," said Ruud Wouters, an assistant professor of political communication and journalism at the University of Amsterdam and the lead author of the study. "More specifically, the number of participants and unity are the characteristics of a protest that have the greatest ability to change politicians' opinions."
The editors and twenty contributors to the essential anthology Journeys in Sociology use a life-course perspective to address the role of sociology in their lives. The power of their personal experiences—during the Great Depression, World War II, or the student protests and social movements in the 1960s and '70s—magnify how and why social change prompted these men and women to study sociology. Moreover, all of the contributors include a discussion of their activities in retirement.
New research suggests a significant number of national and international American banks hired new Chief Risk Officers to mitigate risk but may have actually helped lead the industry into widespread insolvency.
Starting in the 1990s, many major banks hired Chief Risk Officers (CROs) in a response to new laws and regulations put in place following financial meltdowns in the 1980s. In an effort to comply, banking officials elevated risk analysts to corner offices to show they were serious about tackling risk.
Winter 2018, Vol. 17, No. 1
Features include "After Charlottesville", "Ethnonationalism and the Rise of Donald Trump", "Trump's Immigration Attacks, in Brief", "Making Protest Great Again", "Emasculation, Conservatism, and the 2016 Election", "Maintaining Supremacy by Blocking Affirmative Action", and "The Algorithmic Rise of the "Alt-Right."


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Mrs. Pain: "No, none at all. But I got a rash from it, and it made me sleepy."
Monday, December 21, 2009
This is a yes or no question
Mrs. Pain: "No, none at all. But I got a rash from it, and it made me sleepy."
15 comments:
- mommy-medic said...
Well..... shaken babies have to grow up to be someone I guess.....
- December 21, 2009 at 1:59 PM
- OMDG said...
Hm... Maybe that just means that the rash and sleepiness didn't bother her?
Good thing she didn't say, "Oh no, no problems at all except for my tongue swelled up and I couldn't breathe."
- December 21, 2009 at 2:26 PM
- Mogrith said...
The rash was on her front and she sleep on here back so none of the effects were SIDE effects?
- December 21, 2009 at 3:56 PM
Don't you know they're allergies, Dr Grumpy? There's no such thing as a medicine SIDE EFFECT. *eye roll*
- December 21, 2009 at 4:46 PM
..and when you prescribed the medication she had a penis and only spoke Serbian..but she's FINE now, thanks!
Pattie, RN
- December 21, 2009 at 4:57 PM
Well, at least she has an understanding of "side effect"....NOT!!!!!!!!!!! Sounds like she comes to my pharmacy!!!
- December 21, 2009 at 4:59 PM
- S3XinthePantry said...
But I also took a bath with some poisin ivy and pulled 3 all nighters in a row...
- December 21, 2009 at 6:17 PM
- Frank said...
Sounds like a typical patient. The concept of side effects was apparently too much for their pea-sized brains to comprehend. Which is why all the patients that come into my hospital, are apparently allergic to Benadryl, because it makes them sleepy...
- December 21, 2009 at 9:25 PM
Something extra, on the side?
- December 21, 2009 at 10:06 PM
I once saw listed on a patients allergy profile: electrolytes
- December 21, 2009 at 10:51 PM
- Lipstick said...
too funny...yep, I think I have seen her at the Lipstick pharmacy...
- December 21, 2009 at 11:26 PM
Patient sounds like the result of "broken condom syndrome".
- December 22, 2009 at 2:09 AM
Happens in the pharmacy, all. the. time.
Me: Are you allergic to any medications?
Person: No.
Me: Ok, great!
Person: Except penicillin and aspirin.
Me: Ok, then you ARE allergic to some medications.
Person: I guess so, yeah.
Me: Idiot.
Well, not that last part. I would not do that, it's unkind. But it was fun to write it just now.
- December 22, 2009 at 3:57 AM
- GingerJar said...
I'lll commment if I can quit laughing.....
I had a patient one time that told me he was allergic to O2....what...the...????? He was breathing at the time.
- December 23, 2009 at 10:20 AM
- Grumpy, M.D. said...
Gingerjar- If you're allergic to O2, time to move to Jupiter.
- December 23, 2009 at 10:28 AM


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The so called 'skeptics' of the EVER GROWING anti-vaccine global sentiment have scoffed and laughed at the very REAL notion that those who control governments globally want the population tagged like cattle with some form of RFID chip. As a matter of fact the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has spent millions maybe even a billion on this RFID 'VACCINE TRACKING' endeavor.
Recently courts have RULED AGAINST THE 'SOVEREIGNTY' OF THE PARENT AND CHILD by allowing schools (mostly if NOT all 'government' schools) off the hook after FORCING vaccines into the veins of children with vaccine EXEMPTION STATUS. These types of actions by government, in this case the federal courts and the federal schools, are the very 'bellwether' of tyranny ALWAYS disguised as 'THE GREATER GOOD'.
Below is a video interview by Mike Adams 'The Health Ranger' of Dr. Andrew Wakefield discussing this alarming trend of the 'callus disregard' for the liberties of the American citizen and parent. They also discuss the very blatant negative effects that occur after one takes the Gardisil vaccine.
HOW does this tie into the RFID tracking chip the Bill and Melinda Gates have invested so much money in?
Here is the FDA's very own position on the RFID chip as it is applied to human beings.
Note the heavy emphasis on this RFID technology being used for tracking records. The way these NEW 'universal health care' systems (both the U.S. and NOW the U.N.) 'laws' are written, make it clear that in order for you to get your 'universal health care' your medical 'papers' MUST be in order. This is the very reason why major vaccine investors such as Bill and Melinda Gates would fund this technology in the first place as this 2009 article below demonstrates that indeed they do fund.
RFID tracks infant pneumonia in Pakistan
On it's own, the RFID chipping for medical purposes sounds reasonable but, when combined with Bill Gates lust to force everyone to be injected with HIS investments, investing in the very technology to track down those of use who say NO (see new universal health care laws) makes Bill Gates enthusiasm for this tracking technology seem whole lot more nefarious.
Read where in the U.S. health care bill this technology is addressed and implemented.


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House, Senate approve education funding increase
The Iowa House and Senate have approved an education budget that should let higher education officials freeze tuition for a second-straight year.
The Des Moines Register reports both chambers approved a $986.1 budget Wednesday night and sent the measure to Gov. Terry Branstad.
The spending plan includes 4 percent increases for Iowa's three public universities, plus an additional $2.6 million for the University of Northern Iowa.
Lawmaker were able to resolve a disagreement over funding of the University of Iowa. House Republicans had wanted to give Iowa a smaller increase.
The bill also increases general aid to community colleges by 4.1 percent, to $201.3 million.
Board of Regents President Bruce Rastetter thanked lawmakers for the funding increase.


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The Microfluidics and Nanofluidics Handbook: Two-Volume Set comprehensively captures the cross-disciplinary breadth of the fields of micro- and nanofluidics, which encompass the biological sciences, chemistry, physics and engineering applications. To fill the knowledge gap between engineering and the basic sciences, the editors pulled together key individuals, well known in their respective areas, to author chapters that help graduate students, scientists, and practicing engineers understand the overall area of microfluidics and nanofluidics.
Topics covered include
Finite Volume Method for Numerical Simulation
Lattice Boltzmann Method and Its Applications in Microfluidics
Microparticle and Nanoparticle Manipulation
Methane Solubility Enhancement in Water Confined to Nanoscale Pores
Volume Two: Fabrication, Implementation, and Applications focuses on topics related to experimental and numerical methods. It also covers fabrication and applications in a variety of areas, from aerospace to biological systems. Reflecting the inherent nature of microfluidics and nanofluidics, the book includes as much interdisciplinary knowledge as possible. It provides the fundamental science background for newcomers and advanced techniques and concepts for experienced researchers and professionals.


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The warm-weather season is here, and it's time to start thinking about home improvement. Are you ready to flex your design muscle? Moen is here to help with a fun, easy, and interactive DYO (design your own) tool!
From a complete room overhaul to a weekend project, Moen has ideas and tips to get you started. With complete looks for your bathroom or kitchen, the DYO tool will let you experiment with different combinations to see what works best for you. The tool allows you to get inspiration on your new project, browse through the different rooms, pick your favorite fixtures, and save your look. Once you decide on your new room, find out where to purchase and how to install for a successful DIY project!
Click here to visit the Moen site and get designing!


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I want to help Dr. Oz not criticize him. Criticizing Dr. Oz is like criticizing Mother Theresa. He is uniformly worshiped by the media and his huge audience. He comes across as someone truly wanting to be helpful. So if I come across as being critical of him think of it as constructive criticism.
Yesterday, as I waited in the checkout line at Walmart, I saw a popular woman's tabloid with a full page photo of Dr. Oz. The headline with the picture was "Dr. Oz's Metabolic Makeover". This intrigued me because I can use new information of this kind in my daily office encounters, so I bought the magazine. Imagine my surprise when, reading through the 2 page article, I didn't find a single word from the great and powerful Oz. Instead a nameless author offered a summary of "Dr. Oz's body-transforming secrets!". What were Dr. Oz's secrets? Take Vitamin D, fish oil, calcium, multivitamins, get enough sleep, and eat food with anti-oxidants low in carbs and sugar. In conclusion a dietitian put together a few simple recipes for meals based on a 1400 calorie per day diet. That's it folks. That's all she wrote!! Nothing even remotely new or body transforming. There was not a single original or inspirational thought to be found. Not even a single quote from the medical guru. I doubt whether he even read the article himself.
Dr. Oz was trained as a cardiac surgeon. It takes years of dedication and hard work to achieve that goal. In his mind must have been a desire to save people's lives by literally taking them to the brink of death and bringing them back healthier than they were before. What this article says to me is that Dr. Oz has allowed himself to become the Kim Kardashian of medicine. A pretty but empty headed celebrity offering nothing of real value. His full page photo in this magazine is the portrait of an almost cynical drive to grab a few dollars from the pockets of adoring fans. What kind of deal do you have, Dr. Oz? Do you get a few pennies for each magazine sold? Do you really need the money, the fame, the glory that this kind of exploitation provides?
Nobody got hurt by this, you might say. That is true if you have time and money to waste. I know that many people would rather get up to date information they could use to get healthy and donate the money they wasted on this article to better causes.
We expect something more from you Dr. Oz. Shake off your advisers and entourage. Stand up for the person you originally sought to be.
Gary Pepper, M.D.
Editor-in-Chief, Metabolism.com


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Mr. Speaker, I too want to add my words of best wishes to the hon. member. I know him through the weekly prayer breakfast and the national prayer breakfast. I have appreciated his contributions to both of those entities.
As members know, the work in this place is pretty stressful and, contrary to opinions, largely held by many members of the public, this is not an easy job, and it is a particularly difficult job for those members who come from out west.
I, relatively speaking, have it easy because I come from Toronto, but for members from out west who frequently have to travel on a Sunday afternoon or evening to get here for a Monday morning, it must be very difficult. I can only imagine how the burden of traveling, along with the worry for his child and the regular stress and strain of the job, have been almost overwhelming for him at times. However I think his faith, in some respects, has seen him through.
I wish my colleague all the best and thank him for his contributions over the years.


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Jill Kinney and Bill McBride are working together again, this time on the former Club One Petaluma (CA) facility that Kinney owns and Club One had managed. Starting Jan. 1, the 40,000-square-foot facility will be rebranded as Active Sports Clubs and will be managed by Clubsource Development Partners LLC, which Kinney founded in 2006. She is chairman of Clubsource, and McBride is president and CEO of the company.
Kinney co-founded Club One in 1991 and recruited McBride to join the Club One team in 2003 as vice president of commercial clubs. In July 2013, he left Club One after rising to president and COO. In addition to his current job at Clubsource, McBride also owns BMC3, a consulting, coaching and club management company that he will continue to operate.
"I made the decision to launch this new company and brand because I felt it was the next step towards delivering my vision," Kinney says, adding that her commitment is to building great community clubs. Clubsource is a development business that specializes in private community centers that provide a for-profit, contemporary alternative to financially strapped neighborhoods.
"I truly see our role as one of serving the community, not just the members," she says. "We've done some of that to date, but to take it to the next level, it required that we disengage from the Club One brand."
Kinney says the decision to move away from Club One was difficult but necessary because Club One was not structured to focus on the immediate market.
Part of the process to localize the focus of the club will include introducing products and services that members in the Petaluma area want and will appreciate, McBride says. The company will introduce a farm-to-table organic café that provides fresh, local produce and healthy take-out meals for members. The club also will introduce small group fitness programs and a series of personal improvement workshops, lectures and speakers. New to the club will be the Itrim weight loss center, which Kinney brought to the United States from Sweden. As part of that program, members work with a personal health coach to lose weight and keep it off.
Membership dues will remain the same, according to the company's website.
Many of the members have known Kinney since she opened the club with Club One four years ago, McBride says, so the reaction to the announced changes has been positive. For some people who were network members of Club One, the change might require more adjustment, he adds.
"Bill's got an 'A-team' of experienced operators in Active who share the philosophy that the best service is one that is truly local and relevant and constantly innovating," Kinney says. "We launched this new company initially to serve Petaluma, but we're finding that there are a lot of clubs that resonate with this localized management approach and want to join us."
Although the company may add more clubs in 2014, McBride says the company is in no rush.
"We are not anxious to grow quantity for the sake of number of accounts," he says. "We want to add sites that make sense and where we know we can truly add value with maximizing expertise, technology and customer engagement within a very focused community approach."
Other Club One veterans on the executive team are Carey White, who will serve as CFO/CTO, and Ken Brendel, who will be the general manager.


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Travelin' Jack
(New Mexico's "
Twas the Night Before Dog-Mas
And All Through the Dog House
Not a Critter was A-Stirring,
Not even a Squeaky Toy Mouse.
The Puppies and Kittens Were All Snug in Their Beds
With Visions of Chew Bones and Catnip in Their Heads.
Their stockings Were Hung by the Chimney with Care
In the Hope that SAINT PAWS Soon Would be There.
Mama Cat in her Holiday Collar
And Me-Travelin' Jack in My St. Nick Cap
Had Just Settled Down
For a Cozy Winter's Cat Nap.
When OUT on the Lawn there Arose a Great Clatter,
I Sprang from My Dog Bed to See What Was the Matter!
And WHAT to my Wondering Pup Eyes Just Appears
But a Miniature Dog Sleigh and Eight Tiny Dog Dears!
With a 4-Footed Driver who was Set On a Cause
I knew in a Dog Blink, it must be SAINT PAWS!
More Rapid than Greyhounds, on Target They Came
He Barked out in Dog-Talk and Called Them by Name.
"Now Fido, Now Fluffy, Now Fifi and Fred
On Roxie, On Rascal, On Rover and Red!
To the Top O' the Dog House, To the Top O' the Wall
Now Dash Away, Dash Away, Dash Away All!"
Then to the Top of the Roof those Dog Dears They Flew
With a Sleigh Full of Dog Toys And SAINT PAWS Too!
As I Drew in My Pup Nose and was Hopping Around
Down the Chimney Came SAINT PAWS with a Bounce & A Bound.
He was Dressed in His Dog Fur from Front Paw to Back Foot
And That Dog Fur was Tarnished with Ashes and Soot.
A Back Pack of Pet Treats was Strapped on His Back
And He Looked Like a Pup Peddler Just Opening His Pack.
His eyes How They Sparkled, His Whiskers How Merry!
His Face Fur All Fluffy, His Nose Like a BlackBerry.
His Dog Smile was Drawn Up like a Howl-iday Bow
And the Beard on His Chin was White Like the Snow.
SAINT PAWS was Chubby & Plump, A Right Jolly ol' Pup
And I Said When He Spied Me "Hey Ol' Paws-What's Up?"
With a Wink of His Eye and a Cock of His Head
He Soon Let Travelin' Jack Know I Had Nothing to Dread.
He Barked not a Word, but Went Straight to His Work
He Filled All the Pups' & Kitties' Stockings Then Turned with a Jerk
Laying a Paw Aside of His Puppy Dog Nose
And Giving a "YIP" Up the Chimney He Rose.
He Jumped in His Sleigh to His Dog Dears Shouted out a Loud BARK
And Away They All Flew, Enroute to a Nearby Dog Park.
But I Heard Him Dog-sclaim as He Drove Out of Sight………
TRAVELIN' JACK dedicates this Pup-Poem to ALL the Puppies and Kitties Waiting for A Forever Family. Don't YOU need a new family member this Holiday Season? If You Can't Adopt, then Support Your Local Animal Charity. THANK YOU…. & HAPPY HOWL-IDAYS! DECEMBER 2O13
Merry Christmas to ALL! Happy New Year!
signing off for the holidays as I have a lot of special deliveries to make to good puppies and kitties everywhere! You can check out my Facebook page to keep up with the action till January.
Travelin' Jack Public Figure
Travelin' Jack, Roving Bulldog Reporter


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Albert Pujols out for rest of season with foot injury
- Albert Pujols has not played since July 26 with partially torn plantar fascia in his left foot
- Injury has bothered Pujols all season%2C forcing him from first base to mostly playing DH
- Pujols has 17 homers and 64 RBI%2C the first time he will finish with fewer than 30 homers
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Albert Pujols finally agreed he should wait 'til next year.
Pujols will miss the rest of the season to rest his injured left foot, the Los Angeles Angels announced Monday.
The $240 million slugger has given up his hope to play again this season when the Angels' medical staff and front office advised him to give several months of rest to his partially torn plantar fascia before spring training.
While sitting out the past three weeks, Pujols repeatedly said he hoped to return for the final two weeks of the Angels' dismal season if possible. He eventually had to acknowledge the plan made sense only as a salve to his pride.
"It's not an easy decision, as competitive as I am," Pujols said at his locker before the Angels opened a series against Cleveland. "But I also understand that we (need) to look beyond the season."
The three-time NL MVP hasn't played since July 26, when he partially tore his troublesome plantar fascia in Oakland. Pujols had been rehabilitating the injury with hopes of playing in September, but the struggling Angels' inability to get into playoff contention made that plan increasingly unwise.
Pujols consulted with owner Arte Moreno and general manager Jerry Dipoto before agreeing to shut himself down for the year.
"It was a decision of the organization, Arte and Jerry, because I don't make a decision here," said Pujols, who had career lows of 17 homers and 64 RBI this year. "I put my uniform on and get ready to play. They said, 'This is what's best for the organization in the long run,' and they came and brought it to me. And I just told them, 'Whatever you guys want to do, I'm all for it.' It's definitely hard, as I want to be out there, but I also understand that I can't be selfish and put myself out there."
The injury has hindered Pujols all season, forcing the first baseman to be a designated hitter for 65 of his career-low 99 games. Pujols will finish with fewer than 30 homers for the first time in his remarkable 13-season career, along with career lows in batting average (.258), on-base percentage (.330) and slugging percentage (.437).
Those numbers aren't exactly encouraging for a player who will be 34 years old in January with eight seasons still remaining on the third-biggest contract in major league history. The Angels are determined to give Pujols every chance to fix his formidable game in the spring.
"The doctors think it's the best course of action," manager Mike Scioscia said. "For Albert, everything would have to have been perfectly aligned for him to come back and play. I think by trying to get to that level, maybe there were some things that would have been at risk in setting the healing process back. I think that it's a decision that everyone can be at peace with and get everyone ready for next year."
Pujols has been diligent in his rehabilitation while still hoping to play this season. His foot came out of a walking boot last week, and he even did 45 minutes of cardiovascular work Monday before announcing he was done for the year.
Despite a lavish payroll and sky-high expectations, the Angels are all but certain to miss the playoffs for the fourth straight season in their worst stretch under Scioscia. Los Angeles has lost 23 of 34 heading into its series with the Indians.
"Just look at it," Pujols said. "Unless in two weeks something happens and we're only two or three games out ... is it worth it to come back and put yourself in a situation where you take that risk? Or just wait six or seven months and get yourself ready for spring training? That's the decision we all came to."


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IRT 20th Anniversary
IRT hosted a 20th anniversary event March 12 and 13, 2011. The two-day event was attended by alumni, donors, and representatives from the 42 colleges and universities that are part of IRT's educational consortium. Among the events planned for the weekend were two seminars addressing the retention of educators of color at every level and the need for ongoing professional development, networks, and support systems.Read More
Photos by John Hurley
Photos by John Hurley
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These photos are for personal use only. They cannot be resold or used for commercial or promotional purposes. Athletics photos are made possible in part by a grant from the Abbot Academy Association, which seeks to foster and promote the legacy and spirit of Abbot Academy in the programs of Phillips Academy.